Reverse Mortgage Jan-Feb 2021

From the Top could be served better by being on the forward side of the business or vice versa. RM: I grew up with Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom and its host Marlin Perkins. I’m curious how that brand recognition has resonated with older homeowners who may be considering a reverse mortgage in the markets you serve. TC: The Wild Kingdom and Marlin Perkins resonates with a lot of Americans our age and older, so it’s been a great success. We haven’t been rebranded as Mutual of Omaha Mortgage for very long. But in that time, we’ve certainly seen an uptick in acceptance. We have one of the strongest consumer brands in the space. I really think it helps with the trust factor and allows us to educate customers and their advisors about reverse mortgages and to address the misperceptions. RM: From a volume standpoint, how does 2020 com- pare with 2019? What are your projections for 2021? TC: We’re seeing year-over-year growth. It amazes me how the team is doing a great job of handling the increased volume, especially with all the disruptions and working from home and not being together. But yeah, we’re seeing a nice increase from 2019 to 2020. We think 2021 will be an even stronger year. We still have a couple of tailwinds, such as a low interest rate environment, which a lot of people think will continue through 2021. I also think that we are seeing some progress in the acceptance of reverses. The stock market has mostly rebounded, but in March when the pandemic was hitting us hard, equity values declined, and it woke up a lot of senior borrowers and financial advisors that it sure would be nice to have a different asset to tap into. I think that there’s been a bit of awareness that has grown out of this pandemic that this product is really a nice complement to a retirement plan in many cases. So, we’re pretty optimistic about what 2021 is going to bring to us. RM: What changes are you considering for 2021 to build market share for your reverse mortgage business? TC: We are going to continue to expand our marketing campaigns. We are launching a few different things to capture more business, both online and direct mail. We have a large customer base within the insurance company that we are working to see if we can leverage. So, we’ve got a lot of things going right now that we think will reap rewards. We’re also excited about some new technology that we’re going to be rolling out at the end of this year (2020) that will be a real win for our customers and make our process even more customer-friendly and efficient. RM: Thank you very much for your time. Do you have any parting words for our readers? TC: We always remind ourselves how life changing this product can be. Despite the distractions of a pandemic, social injustice and an election year, we never lose track of why we do what we do. And that’s because we truly make a difference in the lives of these senior homeowners and sometimes you have to take a deep breath, step back and remind yourself that it really does make everything worthwhile. FinancingSeniors’Independence Serving Utah and Idaho for Over 20 Years We opened our doors in 1999 to provide local homeowners and those wishing to be homeowners good quality mortgage loans with no hidden surprises or costs. We pride ourselves on be- ing customer oriented and find loans that are tailor made for our clients. We added the reverse mortgage loan to our great line of product offerings and have been providing the people of Utah and Idaho this loan as another mortgage available to meet whatever financial need arises. We continue to remain committed to our clients’ mortgage financing needs, and our variety of all residential mortgage loan products makes us a great company to add to your network of professionals. FSI Mortgage Independence Square 111 East 5600 South • Suite 102 Murray, UT 84107 • NMLS #4398 www.fsimortgage.net 1-800-808-3066 REVERSE MORTGAGE / JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2021 13